Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said Thursday morning that they are launching an investigation into multiple sclerosis drug prices, and have sent letters to seven pharmaceutical companies about their pricing strategies. Letters were sent to Bayer AG , Biogen Inc. , Merck & Co.’s EMD Serono, Novartis AG , Sanofi SA , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Roche Holding AG . Biogen shares declined 2.9% in heavy midday trade and Teva shares declined 1.1% in moderate trade. The lawmakers asked for information to evaluate multiple sclerosis drugs’ “substantial price increases, including information about corporate profits and expenses and documents concerning pricing strategies, patient assistance programs, and drug distribution systems,” and requested a response by the end of the month. The average price of a multiple sclerosis disease-modifying therapy rose from $16,000 in 2004 to about $84,000 in 2017, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (the numbers refer to average wholesale price, which does not reflect often-substantial discounts and rebates). Prices for drugs sold by the seven drugmakers have increased by as much as 1,002% since 2012, according to information from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society cited by the two representatives. The lawmakers said that their letter referred to an American Academy of Neurology study that found “some drug companies appear to be increasing their prices and setting new, higher prices in lockstep in competitors,” which may reflect a phenomenon called “shadow pricing” in which companies respond to eachothers’ price increases.
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